Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 2% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price rose 2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $288.88 and last traded at $287.78. 12,139,210 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 9,501,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stephens raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $223.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.30. The firm has a market cap of $234.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 235.89, a PEG ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. The trade was a 37.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $150,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,157,120. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 101,044 shares of company stock worth $26,022,722. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 76,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,235,000 after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 942,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $151,105,000 after purchasing an additional 84,915 shares during the period. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $534,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $296,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.